


Yellow Paint

by hokay



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Christmas Time, Christmas fic, Fluff, M/M, chaleigh, fic request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 03:48:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2836964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hokay/pseuds/hokay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Raleigh met Herc’s eyes again, they were shiny. “Your son makes me happy.” </p>
<p>Herc just shook his head. “Why?” </p>
<p>Raleigh shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe I like a challenge, and Chuck is the biggest challenge I’ve had, even bigger than Pitfall.” He chuckled to himself. “Maybe I like that he makes me furious, because when I’m furious, I’m feeling a lot more than I’ve felt for the last five years.” He grinned at Herc. “And when I’m not furious anymore, I’m happy. It’s nice.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Yellow Paint

**Author's Note:**

> A cheering up fic for [Jess](http://happyinthesilence.tumblr.com/) over on Tumblr because she's feeling rotten and asked for fluff. Merry Christmas, darling! I hope you feel better soon. 
> 
> Un-beta'd, as per usual.

“Break up with him,” was the only relationship advice anyone ever gave Raleigh when it came to Chuck Hansen. Run fast, run hard, and run long. The kid had a stubborn streak a mile wide, an ego the size of his native land, and the only thing more obnoxious than when he was wrong and wouldn’t admit it was when he was right and wouldn’t stop rubbing it in your face. 

The thing about Chuck Hansen, Raleigh knew, was that he couldn’t come at him head on. Chuck had faced too many kaiju that way, and now he just puffed up for a fight like a king cobra. You couldn’t ease him into things, either; Chuck had a weird sixth-sense about these things, and there were too many times Raleigh had worked out something nice for Chuck, only for the latter to make plans on purpose to avoid whatever he anticipated as an embarrassing night out when it was really just Raleigh making dinner for him in the apartment they shared. More fights came from misunderstandings and miscommunications than from blunt statements in their relationship, and it drove Raleigh insane.

Raleigh figured the next best thing to try was to completely blindside the poor kid, and see how that worked out for him.

 

***

 

“Okay, so, I know I promised when I started dating your son that I would never, ever pick your brain for anything because you two are manly men who don’t feel feelings, but . . .” Raleigh grinned at Herc over his sandwich. “I really need you to take one for Team Becket over here and help me figure out a gift for Chuck-”

Herc sighed, unwrapping his own lunch. Raleigh knew that sigh.

“C’mon, Herc, it’s Christmas . . .”

“Why do you keep doing this to yourself?” Herc asked, hands wrapped securely around egg mayonnaise. “You two’ve been together seven months and haven’t gone more than three weeks that you or Chuck haven’t shown up around the ‘Dome looking like someone pissed in your shoe.”

Raleigh took a big bite of his BLT, refusing to meet Herc’s eyes. “We’re working through some things,” he mumbled. He chewed and swallowed before looking up. “It looks worse from the outside than it really is.”

“Raleigh,” Herc said, wiping his hands on a napkin. “I like you. I think you’re good for my kid. But I think it makes me a pretty damn good parent if I can admit that my kid might not be good for you.” He held up a hand when Raleigh opened his mouth to protest. “Chuck’s never been easy to get along with – the only person who could really snap him out of anything was his mother, and even then she had to really fight for it. He’s just a prickly bastard.” Herc put his hand on Raleigh’s arm where it rested on the table. “You deserve some happiness, Raleigh.”

The younger Ranger nodded thoughtfully. “I know,” he said, staring down at his food. “Mako and I have talked a lot about the happiness we both deserve.” When Raleigh met Herc’s eyes again, they were shiny. “Your son makes me happy.”

Herc just shook his head. “Why?”

Raleigh shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe I like a challenge, and Chuck is the biggest challenge I’ve had, even bigger than Pitfall.” He chuckled to himself. “Maybe I like that he makes me furious, because when I’m furious, I’m feeling a lot more than I’ve felt for the last five years.” He grinned at Herc. “And when I’m not furious anymore, I’m happy. It’s nice.”

“Nice.” Herc took another bite of his sandwich, blue eyes fixed on Raleigh’s face. “You’re insane, mate, if you think he’s nice. 

“And you’re insane if you think he’s not,” Raleigh said firmly. “You’ve been in his head. You know the kind of man he is.”

“As a pilot, and as my son,” Herc replied. “Not as your boyfriend. Actually, the first two lead me to believe that he’d be pretty shit at the third one.”

“Then you’d be surprised.” But that got Raleigh thinking. “I’ve got to go,” he said, wrapping the rest of his sandwich in its paper. “Sorry to eat and run, but I’ll see you at Tendo’s party, right?”

“I’ll be there with bells on,” Herc grumbled. “Good luck,” he added with a tiny smile. “You’ll need it. 

Raleigh just waved him off as he grabbed his coat and ran out the door.

 

***

 

He was sitting at the kitchen table when Chuck came through the door, duffel bag swung over his shoulder, cheeks and nose red from the cold. 

“How was the gym?” Raleigh called as his boyfriend disappeared into the kitchen. He could hear the sounds of the sink running as Chuck fixed himself a glass of water, then silence while Chuck drank the water, then the clink of glass on the counter as Chuck finished.

Chuck appeared around the corner, dropping his duffel with a soft _whumph_. “Are we going to fight about this morning some more?” he asked sarcastically. “Because I got in a pretty good workout in the gym and I don’t really feel like going three more rounds with you.”

“Nope,” Raleigh said. “Sit, please.”

That got him a suspicious glare. “What is this?” Chuck growled. “Singing telegram going to come out of the closet and guilt me into going ice-skating or some shit?”

“No.” Raleigh pushed his chair back and stood up. “Just sit.”

“Great,” Chuck muttered as he pulled out a chair and flopped down into it. “Can’t wait for the yelling to start aga-” He was cut off as Raleigh smoothly straddled his lap and set himself down on his boyfriend. Chuck’s hands automatically went to Raleigh’s hips, which made Raleigh smile as he wound his arms around Chuck’s neck. 

“No more yelling,” Raleigh said, rubbing his nose against Chuck’s cheek. He breathed in the faint sweat smell, covered by the stronger scent of Chuck’s mint shampoo and the spicy body wash they both liked. “I had lunch with your dad today.”

“Yeah?” Chuck breathed, hands dipping into the back of Raleigh’s jeans. “What great wisdom did my old man bestow upon you this time?”

“Actually, he was pretty insightful.” Raleigh brushed his lips against Chuck’s cheek, more resting his lips against Chuck’s skin than an actual kiss. “I realize that I’ve been doing some things wrong with us. 

Chuck pulled back, eyes narrowed. “What is this? Are you breaking up with me?”

“No, babe.” Raleigh speared his fingers into the hair on the back of Chuck’s head, digging his fingertips in and scratching. Chuck’s eyes drifted close and he let out a low rumble, almost a purr, of satisfaction. “I just realized that I have been trying to date you like anyone who doesn’t get you would date you. I look at how you are as a pilot and a son and a public figure and see all these challenges that I have to fix. I never thought about how you might be new to the whole boyfriend thing, and how you might want to do things differently.” Raleigh stopped scratching Chuck’s scalp, so that Chuck would open his eyes and look at him; which he didn’t, of course. Raleigh just shook his head, smiled, and pressed on.

“See, here’s the thing. I like you. A lot. You know that, and I’m pretty sure you like me a lot, too. But I also know that you and I – we’ve never done this before. Never done committed, never done special, certainly never done more than just a night.” He took a deep breath, thinking. “I don’t think we would have made it this long if you didn’t want this just as badly as I do.”

That made Chuck open his eyes. “What made you think I don’t?” he asked softly, thumbs stroking the base of Raleigh’s spine.

Raleigh smiled. “I’ve been gauging you on how my family did affection – my mom was really into big into big things during the holidays and birthdays, and I guess I just thought you’d be into that kind of stuff, since I know you were close to your mom.” He put his palm over Chuck’s mouth when the younger man opened it to speak. “But it’s sort of dawned on me, and I’m sorry that it’s taken me seven months; I’ve been too busy trying to pull you out of this idea that I had of you from what I’ve seen when you’re in a Jaeger, and I haven’t really given you the chance to do your own thing and shine on your own terms. So, I haven’t planned anything for Christmas this year. I haven’t even bought you a present – yet,” Raleigh added when he saw a crease form between Chuck’s eyebrows. “I think we should just figure this out between us before I try to push you into something you don’t want.”

Chuck’s thighs slipped closer together, pushing Raleigh more firmly into the Aussie’s lap. “You got all that from lunch with my dad?” he murmured, hands coming around to run themselves up and down Raleigh’s sides.

“Well, and sitting here, introspecting,” Raleigh said with a laugh. “I think you and I have just been waiting for the bottom to drop out, and I don’t think I’ve given you the chance you need to do what you want with our relationship.” 

“You’re better at this than I am,” Chuck whispered, his eyes fixed somewhere around Raleigh’s collarbone. “I don’t even know where to start.” 

“So I’ll let you think about it, then,” Raleigh said, and he began to slide off of Chuck’s lap. Chuck grabbed his wrist, a panicked look in his eyes, and Raleigh just smiled. “I’m not mad. I’m not disappointed. You’re not going to drive me off,” Raleigh said. He remembered something he’d read once. “You’re my yellow paint.”

“Your what?” Chuck didn’t look angry or upset, just confused. 

“My yellow paint.” Raleigh leaned in for a kiss, pressing his lips very briefly against Chuck’s, before he pulled back. “Look it up.” Raleigh climbed off his boyfriend’s lap, went into their bedroom, and shut the door.

 

***

 

Two hours, one very long shower, and several minutes of noisily clacking computer keys later, Raleigh looked up from his book as Chuck peeked his head through the door.

“I come in?” Chuck asked.

Raleigh fished around for his bookmark, made sure he knew where he’d left off, and put his book on the nightstand. He pushed himself up so he was sitting against the pillows and folded his hands in his lap.

Chuck stood at the edge of the bed, hands on his hips. “That Van Gogh quote, right?” he asked.

“Yep.” Raleigh bit his lip to hold back his smile. “It’s lame, I know, and kind of obscure.”

“Not that obscure.” Chuck’s eyes were piercing in the dim light of the room. “I could break your heart, you know.”

“I know,” Raleigh said. “I could break yours.”

“I don’t want to.”

 “Me neither.” Raleigh’s smile broke through.

 “I’m good at piloting Jaegers,” Chuck said haltingly. “Everyone expects me to be good at piloting Jaegers. No one expects me to be good at this. I know they all tell you to run,” he said when Raleigh started shaking his head. “But I’d really like it if you didn’t. Because I was so wrapped up in my own unhappiness when we met. And I know you were, too.” Chuck dropped to his knees on the bedspread and crawled to Raleigh until he was braced over him, mirroring their embrace from the kitchen. “It might be madness that keeps us together, but I like it.”

 Raleigh laughed. “I do, too. And I want to keep doing it.”

 "Yes,” Chuck agreed. “And I want to do Christmas stuff with you, just not all in one go.” He grinned pleadingly. “Please don’t make me go ice-skating.”

 “No ice-skating,” Raleigh promised. “And we don’t even have to go to Tendo’s thing.”

 “Nah, that bit’s okay,” Chuck said, smirking. He pressed his forehead against Raleigh’s “Bits and pieces, love. I’ll get there eventually.”

 “We both will,” Raleigh said, and sighed happily as Chuck kissed him sweetly into the bed.

 

 

 

 

 

_“Vincent Van Gogh used to eat yellow paint because he thought it would get the happiness inside him. Many people thought he was mad and stupid for doing so because the paint was toxic, never mind that it was obvious that eating paint couldn’t possibly have any direct correlation to one’s happiness, but I never saw that. If you were so unhappy that even the maddest ideas could possible work, like painting the walls of your internal organs yellow, than you are going to do it. It’s really no different than falling in love or taking drugs. There is a greater risk of getting your heart broken or overdosing, but people still do it everyday because there was always that chance it could make things better. Everyone has their yellow paint.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays, everybody! 
> 
>  
> 
> [Tumblr](http://lassenach.tumblr.com/)


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